The Forest House
by Filosofie
Summary: Asterix fic: Sequel to 'Phyllis',The story picks up almost a year later, with Phyllis and her family returning to the Forest House, where Manilla is ready to receive new students, Joci, Phyllis' sister, among them. Phyllis has to figure out what to do now Mesmeron is gone. But she is not the only one who has some worries over the future.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

_The Asterix universe is not mine. It's Goscinny's and Uderzo's, and Jean Yves Ferri's, and Didier Conrads'. The make me long for fall for the first time ever!_

_This is a sequel to Phyllis….so it will be infinitely easier to follow after reading that fic. Just so you know._

_Together with Bonny, Phyllis has returned to her parents, Lucius and Myra, and her younger sister Joci. The last one regrets not being able to develop her healing powers the same way her mother and sister did. Which leads her Phyllis to pick up contact with the Forest house. Though Myra is reluctant, the family decides to travel back to Gaul so Joci can study there as well._

…

The sun burned down on the village we all know so well, creating a lazy atmosphere that was only interrupted by short fish fights, since the hot weather made them even smellier than usual. Asterix stretched, comfortable on the bench in front of hut, observing the fight with mild interest. Getafix was watching too, beside him on the bench. Obelix was participating, of course.

Soon the nights would be at their shortest, and the villagers seemed to make up with extra naps at daytime. Today was a bit of exception. It had been an especially long and cold winter, and Asterix didn't mind the hot weather at all. Since fighting Mesmeron, he and Obelix had not been on any major adventures, but they had been busy. Even with magic potion, and Getafix other cures, the village had not escaped the cold's weather influence. Getafix had gotten a serious flue himself, and it had taken him over a month to fully recover. Asterix and Obelix had gathered supplies on a regular basis, since Getafix was not the only villager who had fallen ill. Which meant Asterix had assisted him in brewing some potions. Not nearly as difficult or secret as the magic potion, though. In fact, Asterix was fairly sure Phyllis mastered all the basics he had recently been taught, and probably more. Healing took energy and it was useful to have alternatives. He didn't really know this, thought, since it had never come up. All things considered, he had learnt a great deal. And given Getafix time to recover.

He had just finished that train of thought, when he spotted some visitors at the gates. Watchix was guiding them, chatting away to the Roman looking small man next to him. A taller woman accompanied them. Something in her composure drew his attention. Maybe the way she took in the village, studying every villager with interest.

Asterix frowned. It was not very usual for them to have roman visitors, if you didn't count the legions. Which he didn't. He looked at Getafix, but before he could speak, someone plopped down on the other side of the bench.

"Are you Asterix?"

The light and enthusiastic voice of the teenage girl next to him, did not sound familiar, but he recognized Phyllis light green eyes as soon as he looked sideward. They looked less particular framed by dark blonde curls, but they were definitely the same color. The girl smiled when she saw he recognized her. She held out her hand.

"Joci," she introduced herself. "Phyllis' little sister…though that's not really true."

Asterix shook her hand, and realized she was right. Joci was 15, but she was quite a bit taller than Phyllis. She obviously took more after her mother, more likely to be at eye level with Cacofonix than with him. And she would probably grow taller still.

He looked around, and then back to Joci. "I'm Asterix, yes," he confirmed. Joci beamed at him, studying him, obviously too busy doing just that for any further explanations. But as Obelix and Dogmatix approached, she jumped up. "Dogmatix!" she exclaimed, picking the surprised dog up before greeting Obelix as well.

Asterix walked towards Lucius and Myra. They had just finished greeting Heroïx and now beamed at him as well. They were a strange combination. Lucius clothing was Gaulish, safe for the sandals, as was his wife's. She wore sandals too. They seemed to agree on that. He realized Lucius was, despite his name, quite obviously partly Greek. But his somewhat sharp face was softened by warm brown eyes, and his greying hair. Phyllis looked more like him than her mother. Myra reminded him more of Manilla, though he was not sure if she would appreciate the comparison. Both looked happy, and at ease, and maybe he just imagined the lines in their faces, knowing they had missed their oldest daughter for eight years. There was nothing imaginative about the way they smiled at him. They knew who he was. Which meant Phyllis had found them. But she was not with them.

Myra was the first to shake his hand, studying him so intently he looked away at Lucius, who laughed. "Phyllis told us about you. It doesn't show though, does it?" He shook Asterix' hand too. Asterix laughed as well. "Not at all," he answered. "Is she not with you?" One of the wings on his helmet folded, and Lucius looked at it as he answered: "She and Bonny went straight to the forest house," Lucius answered.

"Leaving us to deliver groceries to your druid," Joci said, rumbling in the bag she was carrying. She pulled out a neatly rolled up paper, tied shut with a black ribbon. "And invitations to the opening of the Forest house. I finally have the chance to start training there!"

….

Traditionally, visitors were welcomed with a large banquet, and so Obelix and Asterix wasted no time going hunting. At their return, the tables were already set. And after they lit the fire, the feast could start. Not wanting to make a bad impression, they let Cacafonix join, though Fulliautomatix made sure he made no attempt to actually sing.

Myra and Getafix were soon having a very serious conversation about potions and healing, and Obelix and Joci seemed to get along great, talking about pets and animals in general. She was, so it seemed, a playful, cheery young girl, well-protected by her family. Asterix couldn't shake the thought that Phyllis had been her age when she had met Mesmeron and lost her friends.

Lucius saw Asterix looking at his youngest daughter. He placed himself next to the small Gaulish warrior.

"It took some time to get Myra convinced, but Joci really wanted to go to the Forest House, and when Phyllis started backing her up…let's just say things went fast." He paused. "Phyllis had already studied there for four years when she was Joci's age."

"It's hard to picture her like that," Asterix said, inclining his head towards Joci. Lucius gave her a thoughtful look.

"Maybe that's because she never really was like Joci, even then. Phyllis grew up travelling around with us. Meeting my patients, merchants… roman soldiers" Lucius added after a moment. He wasn't sure how much Phyllis had told Asterix about Marcus. But it mattered little, because Asterix was thinking of something else.

"I'm a bit surprised she supported going to the Forest House," He said. He leant back a little. Actually he was even more surprised Phyllis had gone there without her family. And a bit disappointed she hadn't come to invite them personally. But he felt ridiculous even thinking that.

"Bonny is returning there too," Lucius said. "And apart from Joci, we'll live close by, but not actually in the Forest House. But you are right, Phyllis was not extremely happy over going there. She just feels Joci should not suffer from what happened in the past. Which is why she let us make a detour, inviting you all. She wanted some time to repair the damage done by Mesmeron…and herself. Before Joci arrived there." "And before you arrived there," Lucius added mentally, but he didn't voice that part. He knew his daughter felt more than just gratefulness for the cunning little warrior. Even if she didn't actually say so. But he wasn't about to share that knowledge.

Asterix frowned, the wings on his helmet folding backwards as he did. "The magic potion would have helped a lot with that….but I guess she didn't want us to see it either."

It was a very good guess, in Lucius opinion. He just smiled. "Phyllis tried behaving like those eight years didn't happen, tailing me for a few weeks wherever I went. Before deciding it didn't work like that. So now she's focused on the future, and she's urging us to do the same... It is a great thing to watch," he commented, before turning his attention to Heroïx, who was about to start yet another lengthy speech…


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, they prepared to leave for the forest house. It was quite an event, as Myra told them, since normally Manilla took new students in every year, but since the trouble with Mesmerons started, she had taken only a handful, and no new students had arrived in four years. She had not thought it safe. Manilla had invited the village in her last correspondence to Bonny. Who would become a teacher herself.

"They have kept in touch all winter," Lucius told them. "And written quite an amount of times. I know a thing or two about fast correspondence myself, but Phyllis is apparently an expert now. Though she has not written to Manilla herself…"

On Manilla's request, Myra had brought back some herbs from Greece for Getafix. The druid was overjoyed to receive them. "I needed some supplies for the magic potion, and because of the harsh winter, they were hard to get here…Manilla had the same issue apparently, but she told me she would have supplies soon…she didn't tell me Myra would bring them though," Getafix explained.

"She didn't know that yet. We only had mom convinced a month ago…" Joci said lightly, but Asterix could feel the family had quite a discussion over it.

Both Obelix and Asterix were delighted to finally have a chance to travel again. Getafix first offered to stay in the village, but Heroïx urged him to go, realizing how much Getafix looked forward to see the Forest House.

"It is not bad for us to have some allies near," he said, ignoring that the Forest House was protected by the Roman empire, free from taxes only because of the value a good healer could bring wherever he or (mostly) she went. "I'd love to go there myself, but I'd rather not leave the village alone….Those morons get themselves into trouble if you blink twice," Heroïx huffed. He motioned for his wife, who looked surprised as he did so.

"Maybe you can represent me, go along with Asterix, Obelix, Getafix and the others who like to go." It was an unusual turn of events, but Impedimenta accepted, proud enough at her chance to represent the village chief. Asterix was quite surprised, and a bit taken aback. He didn't have very fond memories of travelling with her. Though he had to admit, his chief had played the main part in making their trip to visit Impedimenta's brother a disaster.

Finally, after hunting some boars for lunch, selecting a proper menhir as a gift and a heated discussion with Asterix about which dogs to take (Dogmatix and Bravura), Obelix was ready to go. A discussion that had started mostly because Obelix infinite amount of preparation almost drove Asterix insane, and had had been cut short because Joci had laughed hysterically all through it.

"You guys are hilarious!" exclaimed, holding her sides laughing. She simply picked up dogmatix and put him on the chariot she and her parents used to travel. "The Forest house is perfectly dog-safe."

Obelix gave Asterix a triumphant look. The little Gaul took a deep, frustrated breath. He took one look at Bravura, and decided it was not worth trying to leave her at home. They would never find someone to look after Dogmatix' vilest pup. And she had already joined Dogmatix, by climbing up the horse that pulled the chariot...

A few hours later, Getafix was on the chariot chatting away with Lucius and Myra. The druid looked happier than he had been in months, and it pained Asterix a little. He knew that Getafix felt very responsible for the village's safety. In between their adventures, Asterix rarely worried about it. They still had Obelix, after all. But Getafix never forgot. Which had become very clear when he had been ill. If Asterix had usually not much to worry about, it was mainly because of Getafix. And if he had worries, Getafix always had a solution. The other way around, he had not really been able to set the druid a ease when the latter had been too ill to brew potions.

Impedimenta had also been on the chariot, but she joined Asterix, who was walking next to it, after they had a short break.

"Piggly….," she flushed a little at her own words, "I mean, Heroïx thought it would be good for Getafix to have a change of scenery for a while. He's been glum all winter."

Asterix threw a quick look at Obelix, who was playing fetch with the dogs. "Yes," he answered. "I was just thinking that, too. It was a good idea," he added. Impedimenta smiled at the praise for her husband. They walked for a while, while Impedimenta searched for something to say. "Phyllis found her parents," she finally remarked. Asterix just smiled at her. "Apparently," he answered.

Impedimenta sighed. She know Asterix was usually pretty straight-forward, but he didn't seem interested in sharing his thoughts with her. For which she could, if she was really honest with herself, not blame him. She had never really understood him very well, knowing only that Asterix didn't care much for a lot of things she really found important. Being respected, having some form of status, among others. It seemed like a bit of a judgment from his part. Which had irked her on quite a few occasions. It has simply made him avoid her if he had the chance, and she had never really understood what he did care for. Apart from Obelix and Getafix. And their village, obviously.

"It would be good for Getafix to appoint a successor," Impedimenta said. That did get his attention, though Asterix gave her an accusing glare now. "It takes, what, eighty years or so to become a druid? I don't mean anything by it, " she said, exasperated. "Maybe he would have to worry less."

"You're right…" Asterix said. "But the main thing is who he will transfer the secret of the magic potion too, and it doesn't necessarily have to be someone who is not a druid yet. " He paused for a while. "It has to be someone trustworthy, not violent or power hungry enough to abuse the secret, and not so strict he will go crazy in our peaceful village." He stressed the word, and Impedimenta rolled her eyes. They were a bunch of thunderheads, she knew it all too well.

"Maybe if our village did not depend on the magic potion so much, he would have made his choice long ago," Asterix added suddenly. If he hadn't been the one who drunk the said magic potion most often, it could have sounded like an accusation. Impedimenta knew that Getafix would never phrase it that way to Asterix. Our to any other villager. But that didn't mean it wasn't true.

"We are not completely helpless though," Impedimenta said. But the rising tone at the end of her voice made it sound like a question. "Without the magic potion, we still have Obelix, and you, and I'm sure Phyllis wouldn't mind helping out. The Forest House is not that far away."

Asterix chuckled, finding it quite funny he had made it on Impedimenta's list, after all. He objected: "I don't think Phyllis will stay there for long….I mean, not longer than her family, in any case."

"You don't think she will stay with Bonny? If she's going to be a teacher there?" Impedimenta was genuinely interested. For some reason, she had gotten along with the raven-haired girl. Making her one of the few people both she and Asterix appreciated. It was the main reason she didn't mind going with him and Obelix on this trip.

Asterix shook his head. "I have no idea," he said, and this time, she believed that was all he had to say about the matter.


	3. Chapter 3

The Forest House did not have an original name, but one that expressed its location well. So their small group discovered three days later…It was surrounded by seemingly sky-high oak trees. They also encountered a roman camp. Lucius pointed out that they were now very close, an hour from the Forest House. Joci bounced up and down, and Obelix clapped his hands.

"Care for some fun before we arrive there?" he asked Asterix. Asterix smiled but shook his head. "They are not attacking us." He said.

"Yes, because that always matters," Obelix sniffed. "You are holding back because Getafix came along."

Asterix looked at his best friend, who was walking sidewards, trying to peek into the camp. No doubt trying to attract someone's attention. "Obelix…." The menhir deliverer turned at his small friend, somewhat irritated. "It's the only camp in walking distance of the Forest House…It's the one were Marcus and Biancus were stationed,"Asterix pointed out quietly. But it

Obelix' eyes widened, the mischievous glint in them disappeared at once. He stole a glance at Lucius, who had overheard them. He just nodded. "It's stationed here because of the Forest House, actually….so it doesn't move. Though the legionnaires in it change."

Obelix stared at the quiet gates, which they approached as they passed by. Two soldiers were standing guard, but they just greeted them, letting them pass without further interference. He felt quite guilty. Because the evening when he had followed Phyllis to the beach was still vivid in his mind. She had told him about how she had found her friends, hanging from the watch out towers. Him, not Asterix, although he had overheard the whole thing. And yet he had forgotten as soon as he had caught sight of the familiar outlines of a roman camp. He was glad Asterix didn't get angry over it, he already felt stupid enough. Glad he had not made his mistake in front of Phyllis, too.

The camp had been at the outskirts of the ancient forest, The forest house was in a little clearing in the middle of it. The atmosphere was eerily quiet between the large trees that shielded much of the sunlight, but there was the distant sound of a nearby waterfall. Not near the coast, like their village was, the environment was more rocky and leveled. The closest town was half a day away, still it felt much further. It was an impressive environment.

The clearing appeared out of nowhere, which was probably because the large wooden house at the end of it was constructed from the trees that used the stand there. It had several floors, and was painted a faint white. They stood still to admire the sight. It was a house, but it seemed like a village of it's own in size. Easily as tall as Cacofonix tree house, and almost as wide as their village.

Myra frowned,"I thought they would have finished re-painting it by now," she remarked.

They were noticed soon enough, and greeted by a flock of women, most of them around Phyllis' age. Bonny was in the middle of them, an as soon as they caught sight of her, Asterix knew something was wrong. Actually, he had known since they had been able to reach the forest house without Phyllis greeting them, and from the way the conversation on the chariot had died away, it seemed her family knew as well.

Bonny didn't even greet them before starting to talk. "Phyllis is not here, but she's okay," she said in one breath. Asterix thought she looked much like he had seen her when he had woken up after Mesmeron's attack, and it didn't make her sound very convincing. Manilla joined her. "Let's talk inside," she urged.

But Myra had stopped walking. "I'd rather know where my daughter is first." Her icy voice reminded Asterix of Phyllis immediately. They all stood still now.

For a long moment the women just stared at each other. Bonny stepped in between them.

"On our way here, we were attacked by three deserters of the roman army. Phyllis dealt with them but…" She took a deep breath, " But we discovered they were part of a larger group that had pillaged a village about a mile further…" Bonny trailed off.

"Bonny brought some of the most severely injured villagers here," Manilla said. "Phyllis is on her way to Lutetia, to bring the group that attacked them to justice. She must be almost there by now."

Lucius stepped forward. "What Justice?" he asked sharply.

"Roman…the romans did not order the attack of the village. They had no reason to do so. And there weren't just three of them when they attacked. It is her best shot at having the rest punished as well."

"Julius Caesar is in Lutetia …he's on his way back from Germania."

Manilla gave him a wry smile.

"I know Lucius. But Phyllis is not actually working against him in this case. Deserters are severely punished, and that's exactly what she wants."

"Great." Lucius ran a hand to hair frustrated. Then he turned to his wife. "She can handle it, Myra." She opened her mouth to protest, and he pulled his family aside.

Getafix stepped forward, talking to Manilla. "Do you still need help with the injured?" She shook her head. "Some of the healers who were here already for the celebrations, left to assist in the village. With their husbands. They'll manage the reparations." She softened her tone, and Asterix stretched to understand her. "The ones Bonny brought here were all women…." She gave Getafix a pleading look, hoping he would understand. "They needed some time away. And some other measurements had to be taken. But they will return home tomorrow"

"They attacked women?" Obelix whispered to Asterix, horrified. Asterix was wondering if he caught the full implication of Manilla's words. If so, he had no intention of explaining to Obelix. Before he could respond, he was pushed forward. Obelix steadied him, and he turned around. Goliath's angry brown eyes stared down upon him. But she did lower her head, rubbing against his arm and pushing him forward again.

"Phyllis is taking them to Lutetia…by herself?" he said, sharply.

Bonny met his eyes. She had expected this. But she still didn't like having to defend a decision made between her and Phyllis. And she wasn't going to.

"Yes."

"And she left Goliath behind?"

"Transporting someone with a broken leg is quite difficult without magic potion."

"And you couldn't use another horse?"

"That's what pillagers do, Asterix, they take the horses with them." She saw she had finished his interrogation with that, and suddenly she realized he was just angry over Phyllis being alone. Just like she had been.

"I didn't stop her from killing them. But Phyllis couldn't stand the idea of the other part of the group getting away. And the village council…what was left of it, agreed. So we split up."

Lucius stepped in, breaking up the argument. "She can handle it. And she must almost be in Lutetia by now." He spoke to Bonny, but his words were meant more for his family. He pointed towards the Forest House. "Are you far behind schedule?"

"Quite a bit."

Asterix turned to Myra, not very interested in renovation stories. How Lucius could focus on that, was beyond him. Myra's lips were pursed, telling him she wasn't interested either.

"She could have bought another horse. She gave Goliath to Bonny so she would only have to watch her own back." Myra said it softly, so Bonny wouldn't hear.

"She wouldn't have done that if she didn't think it was dangerous."

Myra straightened a bit. "No woman in her right mind would decide that travelling with rapists wasn't dangerous."

Asterix flinched. He walked to Obelix, Getafix and Impedimenta. "I'm bringing Goliath to Phyllis," he informed them. They didn't object. "There's still a lot to do here too," Obelix said, doubtful. Asterix saw him look at Joci. She was petting Dogmatix, clutching him in her arms.

"The magic potion will help with that," Getafix said. "But I need to gather some supplies first. I didn't bring all of them. It will take some time." He hadn't thought it would be necessary, given Asterix had his own gourd and they had Obelix with them.

"If I stay here, I can already start," Obelix said hesitatingly. Asterix would have smiled, but the tight knot in his stomach seemed to prevent it. His best friend hated seeing people unhappy.

"That's a good idea, Obelix. I'll be fine. I have the magic potion, and Goliath and Bravura with me."

Obelix gave him a small smile. "You never make much trouble about taking your own dog along."

This time Asterix mimicked the gesture: "It wouldn't be much fun, losing an argument to myself."

He said goodbye to Myra, Lucius, and Joci, who seemed a lot more cheerful already. She obviously hadn't been sad about some missing paint on wooden walls. Actually, Asterix was fairly sure Phyllis was the only one who would mind.

"Technically, Goliath is a horse," Joci informed him. He frowned. "Which means you can ride her, with the magic potion, you will go real fast. Phyllis saved some to show us. You'll be in Lutetia in no time."

"Have you already ridden her?"

"No. No one really has. But she had brought inured people here. She won't throw you off."

Asterix looked doubtful. He was not a very enthusiastic horse rider. Joci was right though, if he could use part of the magic potion for Goliath, they would travel faster.

"I'll see how it goes…"

Joci helped him saddle Goliath, and he was on his way minutes later. She was right, Goliath wasn't throwing him off. She did refuse to go slow, but that didn't matter too much. They were in a hurry. After half an hour, he risked giving her some magic potion enhanced water. Myra's words kept sounding in his head, and he felt going faster was the only way to drive them away.


	4. Chapter 4

_Obelix and the rest will return in the next chapter...just so you all know, I love the characters too much to miss them for long. I like Impedimenta as well, which is why I made sure she came along, so we'll return to them soon enough. :-)_

It was almost dinner time the next day when Asterix and Goliath reached the fortified camp next to the amphitheater. They had ridden all night and day, and it was clear Goliath needed a rest. Any other horse he would have brought to the stables. But she was irritated and nervous even though she was tired, and like her owner, she lacked the ability to stay out of trouble.

Asterix eyed the guards in front of the camp…normally, any search he did in a roman camp, led to unconscious guards. He walked up to them.

"I am looking for Phyllis." He told the guard.

The youngest roman pointed his spear at him "Who is…" but he was interrupted by his older colleague.

"And who are you?"

"Asterix."

They both flinched. The youngest roman opened his mouth again, but before he could sound the alarm, the other gave him a firm poke with the back end of his spear.

"Wait here," he said,sounding a bit uncertain. And he was gone. After a few minutes of staring at the petrified younger soldier in front of him, Asterix grew impatient, but just as he was about to enter the camp anyway, the guard returned and actually gave him permission to do so. He led him straight to the largest tent in the camp, bright orange and decorated with flags. The roman stopped, pointing to him to go on. It felt a bit strange. Actually, it felt like a plain bad idea. He had not taken any magic potion, saving it for the journey. If this was a trap, he would have to be real fast to escape it.

He walked in, taking Goliath with him. Julius had his back turned to him, investigating some maps that were hanging up. He turned round when he heard Goliath make an impatient noise.

"Why is there a horse in my tent?"

Asterix folded his arms "She's Phyllis' horse and I'm escorting her back to her."

Julius Caesar looked down at him. "You do realize Lucius' daughter came here willingly? Seeking our assistance."

Asterix lifted an eyebrow. "She came urging you to do your job, and teach your men some kind of respect." He corrected.

They stared at each other for a few moments, irritated. Julius Caesar did not have the faintest idea why the little Gaul was here. In his memory, Lucius did not know the little village at all. And even if he did, why would he have asked for help from those blasted Gauls? But he could not ask Asterix how he was involved in this. It meant admitting that he had indeed been on conquering quests for so long he had no idea what was going on. Deep down, he knew Asterix and his village probably had something to do with Mesmerons disappearance, but he was not going to ask about that either.

"She's at the amphitheater." He saw Asterix reach for his gourd. "Watching the practicing gladiators," he added. Asterix frowned. "I think she is planning to stay for the trial, which will take a few days. Since she requested half Lutetia to see it. If you can get her to leave, by my guest." He called for the guard at the door.

"Phonus, escort this Gaul to the amphitheater. Take the west entrance." Asterix missed the slight frown of the legionary behind him. "I will not need any escort," he said sharply. He didn't like the idea of being walked around like a prisoner.

"You do. I cannot have my guard lying unconscious because you have passed by. I doubt, by the way, that miss Phyllis would appreciate it, since she refused to leave this tent before I doubled it."

Asterix sighed and turned on his heel. "Very well," he said. "By Jules." The tent flaps fell closed behind him, but they did not veil the emperors angry yell. "And stop telling people to call me …Stop it!" Asterix snickered. Apparently, despite everything, Phyllis had not forgotten about that.

Phonus guided him towards the entrance of the amphitheater. He talked to the guards, and they went inside. It didn't take Asterix long to realize they were walking right through the prison underneath the theater. One of the cells was guarded by four legionnaires. Phonus did not have a good feeling about this. He had a faint idea why Caesar had ordered him to take this route. It was the shortest one, but he would have taken the north entrance, that was used to guide the public to the benches.

"The arena is right at the end," he told the little warrior as they walked passed the heavily guarded cell, hoping to distract him. Goliath had noticed the opening too, and ran forward. "I'm sure Phyllis will be…" Phonus stopped, feeling the urge to bite of his tongue, because the three prisoners immediately looked up at his mention of her name.

He knew the Gaul had not realized the captured deserters were Gauls as well, but apart from his slightly widening eyes, Asterix did not react. Unfortunately, the men on the other side of the bars did.

"I told you she had a taste for Gauls." the smallest of them smirked. They had preciously little left to lose, and they were not about to waste their last opportunity to have some 'fun'.

One of the men at the back winked at Asterix. Even sitting down, he was eye level with him. "That would explain the moaning. I know she was having fun, we should have waken her up."

The lock of the heavy door cracked as Asterix' fist landed on it. Unfortunately, since he had not taken any magic potion, so did his knuckles. In his rage, he barely felt it. The legionaires behind him pointed their spears, and it took him a moment to realize they aimed at the door, and not at him. They weren't stopping him, and neither was Phonus. He was so furious he almost regretted it, having less people to beat up. He opened his flask but an angry, somewhat hoarse voice at the end of the hallway interrupted him. He recognized it immediately.

"How many fucking times do I have to tell you guys to keep away from them! And how…" Phyllis fell silent, recognizing the winged helmet even in the dim light. "Asterix..." She was right next to them seconds later, and all the sound in the cell died down at once. "What on earth are you doing here?" she whispered. Before he could answer, she took him along, clutching his elbow, towards the arena. He pulled his arm from her grip as they arrived there.

In the light of the arena, Phyllis noticed his bleeding hand. She automatically reached for it, but he pulled away again, and she didn't try anymore. "What on earth were you doing there?" she asked.

Asterix did not respond. He wanted to turn back, deal blows, pull out his sword. But he could not fight the person he was trying to defend to do so. Phonus spoke in his place.

"He brought your horse, and Caesar asked me to…"

"And you could not have taken ANY other way?" Phyllis screamed at him.

Phonus stayed calm. "Orders." He said dismissively. Before she could respond to him, he went on.

"I'll keep an eye on them…go home Phyllis. They'll get their trial, and their execution. We'll send proof if you want."

Phyllis shook her head. "I don't need it, send it to the village." But she went for her bag. She gave Asterix a hesitant look. "How did you know?" "Bonny told us when we arrived at the Forest House", Asterix answered, looking grim. "Serves me right for thinking parents are slow," she mumbled. She gave him a pleading look: "let's go. If we ride out now, we can stop at an inn about 50 miles from here, and we'll be at the Forest Hous the next evening. Do you still have some magic potion?" He handed her the flask.

"Goliath is tired," he pointed out. Phyllis put some drops of potion in the bucket her horse was drinking greedily from. "It's not that far, she'll manage." Getting Phyllis away from here might have been the one thing he wanted more than to beat up the vermin just around the corner, and so despite his anger, Asterix jumped on the horse, who reacted a lot less friendly now she was reunited with Phyllis. Phyllis joined him, sitting behind him, and grasping him thightly. "Take the manes," she ordered.

"I've done this before, you know." "Yes, but I bet she went slow on you," Phyllis smirked. Without so much as a goodbye, they were off.

Under Goliath's thundering hooves, anything they could have said to each other was lost. So they rode for a remarkably short time, before nearing the inn Phyllis had told him about. They got off, and Phyllis had a short talk with the ward, who looked remarkably glad to see her. He greeted Asterix as well.

"I'll serve dinner in an hour," he informed them. "You want to fresh up first?" Phyllis looked doubtful. "I'll take care of Goliath," Asterix told her. She eyed his hand, that looked bruised already. "Are you sure? I'll…" She trailed of as she noticed his sharp look.

"See you in an hour then." It should have surprised him, how easily she gave in. But he didn't say a word. He just took care of Goliath, who seemed oblivious to the enormously bad feeling he had.

So did Phyllis, he realized later, because when she returned to the dinner table, her black hair loose and wet, her travelling clothes replaced by a simple green gown, she smiled at him, and chatted with the ward. Asterix didn't feel like adding anything to their conversation. The words of those men kept ringing in his mind, and he wished he could erase them. He was so out of it that Phyllis was staring at him for a few minutes already before he finally noticed.

"Will you let me look at you hand now?" He avoided her eyes. "Ok," he said, knowing she would never let it go. And it did hurt. Phyllis led him upstairs, to a cosy room with two beds in it. He sat down on one of them. Phyllis sat beside him. She fumbled with her hands.

"Look, I know that that wasn't a fun sight. Believe me. But there's scum everywhere. Not just among the romans. Since they joined the army willingly, I thought it was only fitting they received their punishment from it."

Asterix shook his head. She didn't get it. But he couldn't tell her what really bothered him.

Phyllis sighed. "Please talk to me, Asterix."

He stood up, walking around the room in frustration.

"They touched you! While you were asleep."

"They didn't." Phyllis said at once. And when she noticed Asterix didn't look any less distressed she added: "I didn't sleep, apart from one night in this inn. And they were locked away downstairs. As creepy as it might seem is for an inn to have cells, it came in handy. I think the ward puts customers who had a few too many drinks in them."

Asterix stared at her "You didn't sleep?! For how long?" he asked, barely believing her. Without magic potion, she had to have done at least a week about the distance.

"Five nights, I guess. Look, it doesn't matter. I was capable of bringing them to Lutetia, so I did. They did not act on their own. The troops here needed to identify them to find the rest of the deserters that attacked that village. It was quite the self-control exercise, but I managed not to damage them …too much. And they most certainly did not hurt me…."

Her tone softened: "But they did hurt you."

She grabbed his hand, and pulled him closer to examine it. "Really Asterix, you could have splintered your knuckles. Do you know how hard that is to heal? I wouldn't really have blamed you for attacking them….but if you insisted on not using the magic potion, you should at least have let the guards open the door. They would have been more than willing to do so."

She was rambling around, she knew it. She had just never seen Asterix this angry. She wanted to see his smile again. her efforts were useless, but at least he stood still. She grabbed his hand with both hands and focused. For a moment they both stared at the light glow surrounding their entwined hands. She could make it hurt less, but it would not heal overnight.

"It's a pity really. We could have used an extra hand now we're running late for the opening of the Forest House…" She looked up at him, a smile in the corner of her mouth.

Asterix looked away, still dead serious. "I know you can handle yourself Phyllis, but you could have asked for help."

She wasn't sure whether he meant the opening preparations or the trip to Lutetia, so she simply waited for him to continue.

"You didn't have to make that trip on your own, even if Bonny had to bring the others to safety…"

"Old habit, I guess," Phyllis shrugged. "Besides, I was trying to get them to the city alive, and I'm not sure that would have been successful if I'd asked you along." She spoke in a mock tone, but it made Asterix feel even less useful. She could see it in the way he averted his eyes again.

"I 'haven't seen you for almost a year, Asterix," she said softly, pushing back a lock of black hair that fell in front her eyes. "You've given me a chance to start over, and most part of that was working out. Then those ...despicable…creatures came along and I don't know, I just wanted to get them over with and move forward again. You've only ever seen me at my worst….I'd hoped to meet again in better circumstances. "

She stared at his hand. It looked slightly better, but she led him to sit on the bed, grabbed a bandage and settled beside him cross-legged to wrap it around the palm of his hand.

Meanwhile, Asterix thought about what she said. It sounded reasonable enough. Her cooling hands had somewhat calmed the burning anger in his chest, which ironically made him aware of the pain in his hand. But he still felt less than good, thinking of her in the company of those filthy men. It would have been slightly weird being in one bedroom with her otherwise, but now it just felt like a crime.

Phyllis seemed to have guessed his thoughts, because she interrupted them: "I'm no victim here, Asterix. And I may not need saving, but I'm glad you're here. I really missed you." She hadn't planned on telling him that. It was true though. She had looked forward to seeing him again so much, and here he was. He would have come regardless of it being her or any girl who had taken the decision to guide a group of rapists to their delayed grave. She knew that, but seeing how much he hated her having done so, made her feel warm and happy and she could barely hide it, even if it felt wrong to feel this way. Under the present circumstances. Stupid circumstances, she thought randomly.

Asterix watched her changing expressions with curiosity, not missing the happy part in them. In fact, she had been happy ever since her first angry outburst, before she recognized him. He had thought it was an act for his benefit, but he started to realize it wasn't. For the first time, he was capable of mimicking her hesitant smile. "I missed you too," he said. "And you look really good Phyllis."

She did. Even if she looked slightly tired, her eyes sparkled and she was slightly tanned, which gave her a healthy glow. She was still slender, but not as skinny as before. She had obviously continued her habit of eating well, and it showed in her complexion and curves. She no longer looked like the ghost she had sometimes pretended to be.

And she looked surprised now. She studied his face and their eyes locked for a moment. She had moved closer, and he could almost see her think for something to say. But when she opened her mouth again, it was against his lips.

He froze, his mind reduced to a snow-covered blank field. He had not seen this coming. And he was afraid to respond. Only when she pulled back, he realized he had put his arms around her without even noticing, When she realized it too, she moved forward again.

This time he díd respond, and she deepened the kiss as he did, erasing all lingering doubt that she was just thanking him for looking after her. She was leaning into him, losing her balance in her effort to get closer to him, and she pushed him down with her, never leaving his lips.

As a teenager, Asterix had received the odd kiss. It became clear pretty early on that he would become the villages' prime warrior, and this put him on the map. He knew it was more a question of status than anything else. Most of the time he wasn't interested at all, girls meant settling down, and he wanted anything but that. The odd time he liked a girl, it did hurt to know why she was interested, so he kept his distance anyway.

Later one, young ladies found husbands. Most of the time, Obelix and him were only in the pictures if those ladies needed help. Coriza had been a notable exception, and he had noticed her falling for him. He just didn't like her very much. Not nearly enough to hurt Obelix. Whenever he met women, they seemed to complicate matters. And though he liked solving complications, he was happy enough to have things back the way they were, the women disappearing again with the problems that brought them along.

Phyllis was a special case. But he had never expected any different from her. They became friends. He expected to meet her again. She had told him so, and he knew she was not the kind of person to say things she didn't mean. They would meet again, as friends. He had missed her, as just that.

The written invitation to the Forest House had given him time to think, and he had realized he looked forward to seeing her again quite a bit. It was only upon arriving at the Forest House and not finding her there, that he realized how much. He knew she was not really in danger. He simply went outrageous thinking of her transporting those monsters. He knew she didn't need him. But she still wanted him to be there. He would not have believed this so easily, if he did not happen to trust her. With his life. She cared for him. And she wouldn't lie to him. She could lie to herself, but that nagging thought could not keep him from responding to her.

He caressed her hair, smelling of forest and evening air. She responded with a shiver, letting her hands roam over his chest. Through his black shirt, she could feel the scar left by Mesmerons' attack. Her hand lit up automatically when she traced it, making him shiver in return. If her healing powers felt like this to everyone….It made him hope she wouldn't have to heal many people soon. The anger that never really left his chest flared up again.

He toppled her over in his effort to intensify their kiss again. As soon as he did, he realized it felt wrong. Phyllis was pinned underneath him. Although she returned his grip with equal force, he let go of her. She let herself fall back on the bed, and stared up at him, somewhat confused. The guilt in his eyes soon told her why he stopped.. It made her angry he felt that way, though she understood it well enough. She had been feeling guilty over her happiness just moments ago.

So much for shutting herself off from the monsters she had 'transported'. They had contaminated their minds enough not to be able to forget them in this particular inn. Why had she chosen to stay here again? Phyllis knew well enough why, she had wanted to make the ward and his wife know she was all right. They had helped her out, and she had not wanted to leave them feeling bad for her. Maybe someday she would be able to think about this place with warmer feelings. She doubted it though, and as she stared back at Asterix, she regretted not killing the rapists the moment she crossed them. What good was justice, or self-control, if it made him feel bad?

She yanked away one of Asterix' arms as he tried to pull away from her. He lost his balance and fell on top of her. She gently pushed him off, nestling against him, her head on his shoulder.

It took Asterix a moment to realize that Phyllis' rough reaction was meant to keep him close, not push him away. It made his insides warm again. She was breathing angrily, but it wasn't directed at him. He knew all too well what her anger felt like.

"What are you doing?" he asked, somewhat hoarsely.

"Trying to choke them in their cells," she answered darkly.

Asterix had no idea if she could do that, and he didn't ask. The full realization of what just happened was slowly sinking in, and even his anger was driven away by it. He was stupefied. About Phyllis'actions, but maybe even more about his own reaction. They did not speak for quite some time. Phyllis' angry breaths began to steady after a while. They both hadn't slept much, and it sounded like she was dozing off. Just when he thought she was asleep, he heard her whisper:

"Do you still have nightmares?"

She was talking about Mesmerons' attack. She had to be. He shook his head.

"No...well…I guess everyone has nightmares once in a while, but not from the attack."

Phyllis was silent.

"A few weeks ago, when the Romans where really quiet, I dreamt that they were moving away….it was quite the drama, Obelix kept on nagging that we had to move the village to Great-Britain or something, and Impedimenta insisted we moved to Lutetia, and Geriatrix refused to move anywhere…"

"O…. ookay…." Phyllis answered blankly. She had no idea whether that should be counted as a nightmare, but she was quite sure Mesmeron had nothing to do with it.

"I still dream about the memories though. Obelix' memories actually, and yours…I was there when most of them happened, but since you and Obelix recalled them, they seem more …recent, more vivid."

Phyllis was quiet again, and when he peeked at her face, he saw her frown.

"It's a good thing," he added, and she relaxed against him. He was a bit unsettled that she felt so insecure about it. She looked less haunted, but she hadn't changed much. He recognized her mood-swings, her temper and her gentleness, and it was a happy recognition. It made him feel guilty again…he was glad she was still the person he had missed. He wanted her to be happy though, and he wasn't very sure if she was.

Phyllis pulled up the blankets around them. It felt cozy and warm, and soon they were fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_I am not writing this story in chronological order, but of course I do publish it like this. Although I have written quite a bit of it already, not all the scenes will fit in the definite story, and it can result in different speeds of uploading new chapters. The reason for this is that I did not orginally plan to ever publish this sequel. It was just some fun for me. But then it started to have a plot, and I decided otherwise._

_Maybe I will still change the rating. Because Phyllis and Bonny are healers in a world without magic potion, that isn't always joyful. I like to play around with that idea, and Mesmeron was a chance for Asterix and Obelix to show they can still rock even if they can't rely on the magic potion. Because they rock, and they are great friends. For each other and others. _

_And because I believe it is one thing to be cheerful and joke around when everything is well, but the real challenge is to continue to do so outside a perfect world. That's why I make the setting more serious. That and because I like drama :-)._

_Thanks for the reviews, and no worries, I will update...reviews remain welcome though!_

When Asterix woke the next morning, he was more than a bit dazed. He needed some time to remember where he was. Phyllis's head rested on his shoulder, and she was still very much asleep. She made puffing noises now and then, but she didn't move an inch. Through the window, he watched the sun rise higher and higher in the sky, feeling quite awkward. He had no idea what to say to her now.

So he let her sleep for one more hour, almost relieved when she started to move, allowing him to do the same. She looked at the window. "We should get going," she said, barely having opened her eyes. "We can't travel with the magic potion all the way, it will draw to much attention."

Asterix nodded, feeling awkward still. Phyllis got up, wobbling around a bit before going downstairs to prepare Goliath. She acted like her usual self. Not a morning person. Of course, she didn't sleep for five days, and thinking about that, he thought she shouldn't be up at all.

The ward had prepared them lunch to take with them, and when Asterix took it to the stables, he found Goliath to be almost ready. Phyllis led her outside.

"I'm forgetting something," she said.

Asterix looked back, but the small bag she had carried with her was fastened to the saddle.

"I'm forgetting a bard, for the welcoming party. I wanted to look for one in Lutetia. Do you happen to know one? For teenagers, I mean, I know you know a bard . But Cacafonix…well he can't sing," she finished bluntly.

Asterix blinked a few times. He had no idea she was this involved in the whole opening ceremony. He knew Bravura…who couldn't sing either, so that gave him a great excuse not to mention her at all. He wanted to tell her he had no idea, but suddenly he realized he did know someone.

"Justforkix….well, he's not an actual bard, but he's Heroïx nevue and he's from Lutetia."

"Is he any good?"

Asterix stared at her, barely believing they were having a conversation about bards. "He can sing, I suppose, and he can dance."

"Great, that'll do, we'll write him a note, ask him to come, and if he shows, we'll be freed of singing hymnes the entire evening. It's worth a shot. Otherwise Bonny will organize all of it, and everyone will fall asleep."

"Can you sing?"

"No. That's exactly why I need a bard." She pulled out a paper, and let him scribble down an invitation to Justforxix. "The ward can have it delivered. The opening ceremony will only take place when everyone has arrived, and my family arrived way early, so Justforkix could make it if he's interested" Phyllis said. When he was finished, she pulled out a seal, and stamped the letter with it. Suddenly his writing was accompanied by a roman eagle.

"Don't scowl at the stamp." Phyllis said when she noticed his troubled look.

"Well, it IS a Roman symbol," he pointed out.

"It is. And the Forest House is guarded by a roman camp. They won't let him pass without it. You'd have to camp at the entrance for days. Actually, the entire journey will be safer with this sign." She bended over the paper to add some instructions, before they were on their way. It was a little crowded to use the magic potion without attracting attention, so they travelled slowly. Which meant time to talk. Both of them were walking next to Goliath, who was nervous as ever. She didn't like the slow pace.

"If you teach the new students some of your defensive techniques, they won't need the roman camp anymore." Asterix offered.

"Perhaps, but beating up romans won't look good on their resumé. Apart from Bonny and Manilla, no one actually stays….they all have family, and most of them live in the roman empire. To which they will turn back..."

Asterix didn't respond for a while.

"Does it bother you that much?" Phyllis asked.

He briefly wondered if she was frustrated about his reaction. Apparently she carried that seal with her everywhere.

"It doesn't…If Justforkix decides to come, I'll be glad enough to know he has a safe trip. But for me, it is a bit strange. "

"You don't have to defend yourself. You gave the romans a firm no. And I know they need that." She hesistated, " But the Forest House is protected by them, and…I've never minded that. I think it bothered my dad and mom even more than me, to be honest."

Of course it hadn't bothered her. She had no doubt awaited their visits eagerly, looking forward to see Marcus again. It was no news to him. But it felt less comfortable now.

Suddenly Phyllis reached for his injured hand. The bandage was still around it, but he could feel the glow go through it anyway.

"Bonny is brilliant by the way. A brilliant singer. And it helps her concentrate." Phyllis dropped the entire subject. "But she refuses to sing alone if other people can hear her. Which is no one knows how good she really is. Maybe, if Justforkix turns out to be horrible after all, I can convince her to take over."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, and Asterix thought it felt pretty strange, holding hands like this, since he actually had no idea whether it was a gesture of affection or healing.

"I think we can give Goliath the last bit of magic potion now. We have a large amount of forest ahead of us," Asterix remarked. Phyllis nodded, and she made Goliath drink it. The mare was quite eager to do so.

"She'll start to miss it," Phyllis snickered.

Suddenly Asterix realized Phyllis had never drunk magic potion herself. As far as he knew. Since he had been out after the battle with Mesmeron, he wasn't sure.

"Did Getafix ever give you magic potion?" Phyllis shook her head. "Another potion..one that used to cause memory loss, if I remember it well." She smiled again as she realized it sounded a bit ironic. "I'm not sure if it would be a good idea. Maybe it would intensify the powers I already have. And it's not like I'm so good at controlling them as it is."

"I'm sure you'd be ok."

"Perhaps." It did not sound like she really believed it. Phyllis pointed towards Goliath. It was, all things considered quite strange that she let him steer Goliath. She accepted him pulling her onto the horse behind him, and settled herself comfortably, sitting quite close to him. They had ridden Goliath like this before, last evening in fact. But he had been too angry to register it back then.

"How's Obelix?" Phyllis asked randomly. They were entering the forest, and Goliath was quite restless, eager to start travelling top speed. Phyllis made shushing noises to calm her down.

"He's great…well…"

"Before you arrived at the Forest House,"

"Well, yes," Asterix admitted. Obelix was quite sensitive, a fact that was often ignored because of his strength. He absorbed the atmosphere around him like a sponge.

"Why didn't he join you?" Phyllis put her arms around his middle, preparing for Goliath to speed up. But she held her horse back to wait for his answer.

"He offered to help with the renovations of the Forest House…I didn't ask him to stay behind."

"I didn't say you did…It's just..He and Bonny didn't get the easy part in this adventure. Cleaning up the damage in her case…Obelix doing my work for me. That's not what I intended to happen." She felt Asterix tense a little at her words. His anger returned as quickly as she as she had made it vanish last night. He knew Phyllis didn't just talk about the renovations.

"But he'll do great," she soothed. And after a short pause she added: "You should have a talk with him when we get back though. Make sure he's all right."

"I will."

"Good…keep him close Asterix. I've never paid much attention to that. And though there still enough left to repair between between Bonny and me, I don't think it will ever return to the way it was before."

There was little to say to that, and they both held on tight as Goliath sped up.

It was nearly dark when they reached the forest before the clearing where the Forest House was located. They had travelled the last bit on foot, and Asterix had told Phyllis about Getafix falling ill. About the potions he had assisted the druid with, and after some hesitation, about how uneasy he had felt doing so. It had troubled him on more than one level. Getafix was their safeguard, their moral compass at times. But he was also one of his best friends.

"It'll take more than a cold to get Getafix down," Phyllis said. "There's just no way something that ordinary would ever mean the end for him." She sounded confident. He had more or less told Heroïx and the others the same to cheer them up. But it felt good to hear her repeat them.

"Still, our village depends on him."

"It depends on the magic potion. And on you. And on Obelix, Heroïx and the others. There's no need to narrow it down to just Getafix."

Theoretically, that was true. But in practice, they were doomed if Getafix ever left them. Phyllis fell silent as they reached the clearing.

"Wow" she said, stopping to look up at the large building. She took a large breath, and grabbed his shoulder.

Asterix realized what she meant immediately. The walls were freshly painted, in a pure white that seemed to illuminate the garden in front of it, decorated with wild flowerbeds around a round field of neatly trimmed grass. It was a surreal sight. A home from fairytales rather than an actual building. He realized that this was what Myra had not seen as they first arrived. What had made her know something was wrong. It was a completely different building now.

He glanced sidewards. Phyllis was staring ahead of her with wide eyes. He realized this was what she had wanted all of them to see. Her first impression arriving here. Recreated not by her, but by his best friend. He couldn't help but think that Phyllis maybe needed to see it more than all of them combined, if she ever wanted to feel at home again.

Goliath ran forward over the field, making neighing noises, and Dogmatix and Bravura ran up to her. Followed closely by a flock of people. Bonny managed somehow to outrun Obelix, grabbing Phyllis and swinging her around in a tight hug. She was blabbering things he could not possibly understand.

"Bon….BON!" Phyllis managed to get out. "I'm fine!" Bonny held her at arm's length, crouching to do so.

"Really," Phyllis confirmed her investigating look. "Really," she said again, now directing it at her family. Joci hugged her as well, and Lucius stepped forward to squeeze his daughters shoulder.

"Nice view isn't it," he said lightly. He pointed his head towards Obelix, who was hugging Asterix tight. Unfortunately, he dropped his smaller friend as soon as he noticed they were looking at him.

"It wasn't a big deal, just some paint," he said, blushing.

"It's brilliant," Phyllis said, punching his shoulder. Obelix was a bit taken aback to see her beam at him. She looked more or less like he remembered, but that expression was quite new. And yesterday they had, on this freshly trimmed grass, said goodbye to some women who had to return to their destroyed village. The knowledge that there would be help waiting for them, had done little to soften the beaten expression they had worn. He wondered if they would ever beam like that again. Still, if Phyllis could, maybe so could they. He smiled at her.

As she turned to join her family, he whispered to Asterix. "It's not finished. Well, mostly, but some of the rooms are completely decorated with paintings. Some sort of hobby from them. Joci got started on them, but there is still work on those rooms. A bit too delicate for me." He glanced at the bandage around Asterix' hand.

"Who did that?"

"I did." Asterix said.

"Did Phyllis…."

"No! I just told you, I did. I punched a door. Without magic potion." Asterix whispered angrily.

"….heal it?" Obelix finished, confused. "That's stupid," he pointed out. "But did she heal it?"

"Mostly," Asterix said. He felt stupid for thinking Obelix was accusing Phyllis of something.

"You should have Getafix look at it. Bonny…." He trailed off, and they both looked in her direction.

"You look terrible," Phyllis informed her friend.

"I know Phyllis, thank you. Luckily, we still have at least three days before most of the students arrive. Our fellow students will be back by then as well. But we should have everything ready by then. And we still have to prepare the feast…I was thinking we could discuss that tonight."

"Off to bed with you." Phyllis started pushing her friend forward, ignoring the fact that Bonny kept talking to her.

"But…."

"Asterix and Obelix and Impedimenta will organize the food. They throw banquets all the time. And I've taken care of the music."

Bonny gave her an alarmed look. "You have?" "Yes."

"But…it will be decent, won't it? Cause last time you…"

"Decent is my middle name."

"No Phyllis, chaos is you middle name. What have you…." "I'll tell you tomorrow, if you promise not to wake up before dawn," Phyllis interrupted her.

"Phyllis is right," Manilla announced. She had just joined them. "Off to bed with you." Asterix noticed she looked a bit tired as well, though not as much as Bonny. A strand of silver hair escaped the neat bun she normally had. Bonny listened to her at once, and entered the building.

Manilla greeted Phyllis, shaking hands with her. "It will be decent, won't it?" she repeated, investigating Phyllis, who threw up her hands. She looked at Asterix. "Will it?" she asked him, clearly not caring even a bit for the answer.

"Sure," Asterix said, making a mental note to have a long talk with Justforkix if he arrived. He suddenly had an idea. "Justforkix is Impedimenta's cousin. Very decent." He saw Impedimenta stare daggers at him. Swallowing whatever she had planned to say to him before, she ignored him completely and addressed Phyllis instead.

"Are you okay honey?"

"I am. Sorry for being late," Phyllis replied, accompanying Impedimenta inside. She gave Asterix and Obelix a quick wave before disappearing. They heard Impedimenta asked her about the banquet before they turned the corner.

"We share a room," Obelix told Asterix. "Getafix and Impedimenta have their own. I'll show you around a bit, since Phyllis seems occupied." He noticed Asterix was still staring at the entrance.

"Asterix?"

"What?"

"Are you coming?"

"Sure, Obelix." Asterix shook his head. He was thinking too much. Definitely too much. And so he followed Obelix inside, trying to focus on his stories instead of the recent past.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, they all started working on the inside of the Forest House. Obelix was right, Some of the rooms were entirely decorated with paintings. Most a bit fading. On wooden panels fastened to the walls, covering them completely. The biggest room even had a painted ceiling... The images were replaced now and then, but since there hadn't been new students for years, this had also not happened for years…It was an option to just put new panels, leaving it to the new students to decorate them. But it would leave the room blank and without personality. It was interesting to study the different images, painted by people with varying talent and taste. Removing them would mean removing the welcoming feeling they represented. So, despite the work load, Bonny and Phyllis wanted to restore the ones who needed it. Fortunately they received help. Three girls and their respective husbands had arrived that very morning. From the excited squeals they all produced, it was clear this were fellow students from Bonny and Phyllis. The girls flocked together like ….girls. It was really unnerving.

Fortunately, there were other rooms that required just regular painting. Asterix didn't mind helping, but he wasn't sure he would have survived the chitter chatter.

"NOOOO!"

Everybody stopped working, as they heard a familiar melodic voice scream her head off.

"Don't Phyllis!"

"It's fading!"

Asterix had already resumed painting, when he noticed that Obelix was in the doorway, following the conversation. He shrugged, dropped his brush and did the same. He wished he hadn't soon after.

The room Phyllis was working in was large and without furniture. And decorated with paintings, like the others. Phyllis stood in front of one of them. Twice. Only her painted image was twirling around, the white dress flaring around her as she did. Her outstretched hand was entwined firmly with that of her dancing partner, who was about to pull her back towards him.

"Phyllis…." Bonny threw her hands up.

Phyllis was holding a bucket full of glittering paint, and judging from the drops on the floor, had almost thrown it over the entire scene.

"You said to put it over the damaged ones…" Phyllis was sulking.

"Not this one!" Bonny retorted.

"I painted it myself, I can do…."

"No, you didn't, I painted you, you only painted Marcus, and it still took us weeks. How on earth.."

"But it's fading!"

Bonny looked at Phyllis. "You are going to regret it, Phyl."

"Fine!" Phyllis threw away the bucket of paint. Obelix pulled Asterix back quickly, and they just avoided getting splattered by the contents, that left a silvery stain all over the floor. Phyllis left the room, without even noticing them.

"Great," Bonny mumbled. "We will have a silver floor this year now. Flashy."

Asterix studied the image. It was part of a bigger scene, and if you looked closely, done by different people. It resembled one of their banquets. Marcus was wearing a white shirt, instead of his army outfit, though he still wore the Caligula and red knee-length pants. His dark curls were fading, but the coy smile he directed at Phyllis wasn't. He looked at her image. She was laughing, carelessly. He had never seen that laugh before.

Hours later, Phyllis returned to the room, still grumbling, but carrying a wooden plate filled with different colors. And they did not see her for the entire evening. Bonny joined her after dinner. Asterix didn't feel able to not sneek a glance at them when he passed by on his way to their room. Bonny was working on Phyllis' image, while Phyllis was working on Marcus' hair. She leaned back to study him, refining his cheek with her next stroke. He could hear the smile in her voice. "No need to get cocky, handsome."

He was not going to be jealous of a painting. It was simply no use. It didn't even matter. Seeing Phyllis arrive here, her widening eyes had been enough for him to make up his mind. She needed to figure out if she still wanted to be part of this. That very morning, Manilla had announced she wanted to pass the lead of the Forest House to Bonny over time. It had been a clever move. Phyllis wasn't considering to teach there. She simply didn't want to have to listen to Manilla. But if Bonny would ask her…. It was a decision she had to make, and he didn't want to interfere. So he ignored the glances she threw at him, that morning, not giving her an opportunity to break away from the people who surrounded her. Who clearly, despite tiptoeing around her a bit too much, cared for her. Her returning here was what he had wanted to see her do ever since they met, he wouldn't let one kiss change that.

Later, in their room, Obelix turned towards Asterix before going to sleep. "How was your journey? I didn't ask, did I?" He yawned. Asterix shook his head. They had both fallen asleep immediately last night.

"It was … fine. She was tired. She didn't sleep for almost a week."

"Is she still difficult?"

Asterix sat up. "What do you mean?"

"Sneaking around, being secretive…." Obelix trailed off, thinking of something. "She did make bacon and eggs for breakfast a few times, while she stayed with us. It was good. Do you think she will make some tomorrow too?"

"Obelix…."

"What? They have a thing with vegetables here. Goudurix will feel right at home."

Asterix sighed. But hearing Obelix ask about Phyllis did remind him of his promise to her.

"How were things here?" he asked. There was no immediate reply. Obelix was silent for several moments.

"Maybe we should attack the romans more often. Others than the ones around our villages, I mean." Obelix paused again. "If we did, then maybe….that village would still be ok. I asked Getafix about it. He just said it wasn't that simple. But I don't agree." Obelix saw Asterix shake his head, and he could not help but feel disappointed. He turned on his back, making the bed crack in protest.

"You weren't here," he said. "You didn't see those girls arrive here." He didn't mean to sound accusing, but it came out that way, and he did nothing to correct it.

Asterix sat up. "I know, but Getafix was right. It's not that simple…Those deserters were Gauls."

Obelix sat up too. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that they are… were Gauls that joined the roman army. Willingly. And left it to attack that village."

"How do you know they were Gauls?" Obelix asked, incredulously. "Bonny never said…"

"Because I saw them. But my point is, even if we attacked every roman legion in Gaul, we could not have prevented this. Since the romans did not organize their attack." Asterix stared at the floor. He knew Phyllis would never have told him this. She knew, that like the roman stamp, it would bother him. And he told Obelix anyway. Not for the sake of being honest. He did not want Obelix to be disappointed in him for not agreeing, it was as simple as that.

"Bonny never told me…no one told me."

Asterix eyes' softened: "It doesn't matter to her, Obelix."

"Well, it matters to me!"

"It matters to me too…"

"Why didn't Phyllis bring them to their village then, to be judged there?" Obelix asked.

"She wanted to see them executed in front of as many people as possible. And there are more people in Lutetia than in a nameless village."

They were silent for a few moments again. Obelix seemed to slouch a bit, before returning to lay down on his bed. "Well…she's right." He sighed. He knew Phyllis was not responsible for any of this, but their life had certainly become less simple since they met her. The world was no longer divided in romans and good people. He didn't like it one bit.

"You did a great job here, Obelix. Phyllis was baffled when we arrived. And so will all the others be. We can't change what happened to people in the past. We can only help them deal with the consequences." While he said it, Asterix realized he had not yet accepted it himself. He had not been able to restore everything for Phyllis, and he never would be able to either. Surrounded by paintings of the past, it was even harder to forget that.

Obelix pondered his words for a moment.

"You're right," he finally said. "But I don't like it."

Obelix had a way of putting thing the way they were.

…

Phyllis was indeed assisting breakfast the next morning. They could hear as soon as they entered the large dining room.

"By Belenos, use some more bacon, we're not infants!"

"Foods doesn't evaporate from everyone's body like it does from yours, Phyllis."

"You're right, you've put on some…Yikes!"

Inside the kitchen, Phyllis narrowly avoided a wet towel thrown in her direction.

"Fine, make separate amounts then….you can serve them," Bonny ordered, not wanting anything to do with the extra meat. Phyllis turned away, concentrating on the vegetables she was chopping. Bonny noticed her staring at a particularly interesting carrot. "I something wrong?"

"Excuse me?" Phyllis looked up at her.

"Something the matter? With the carrot…or with something else," Bonny smiled.

Phyllis frowned. For a moment Bonny thought she would talk.

"No, nothing."

During dinner, Bonny noticed nothing odd. Phyllis sided with the meat lovers, discussing the preparations of the feast with Impedimenta and Asterix, while Obelix devoured some wild boars in addition to his bacon and eggs. Conversation between Impedimenta and Asterix went a lot smoother when Phyllis mediated between them. Bonny knew Impedimenta was difficult woman. She had been soft and motherly due to the circumstances here, but that wasn't how Bonny remembered her. One would have expected her to clinch with Phyllis more than anyone, but the two took an immediate liking to each other.

One wouldn't tell something bothered Phyllis either, not looking at her right now. Bonny knew there was something though. And she wondered if Asterix knew what it was. If so, he would never tell Bonny, but if he didn't he could keep an extra eye on her. He didn't spend as much time with Phyllis now she was with her family, maybe he had missed it.

After dinner, Phyllis and Obelix left for the front garden, where they wanted to create a small pond, to cover a spot that had never quite recovered after Mesmerons' attacks. Asterix stayed behind to talk to Getafix, and Bonny took her chance to have word with him as well. They walked through the large building, and after Getafix said goodbye to them to join Manilla (which he did quite often), Asterix walked on next to her, examining the painted walls with interest.

"A flaming bird," he remarked, studying a bright orange and red painting. One of the ones Joci had brightened up recently.

"It's a Phoenix…according to the Greek, it is born again from it's own ashes. Hence the flames."

"Painted by Phyllis?"

Bonny smiled. "She wasn't the only one with greek origins. But yes, it was painted by her."

"That's not why I said it. It was one of the first ones Joci restored, she was working on it when we arrived here," Asterix pointed out.

Bonny looked around. She realized he was right. Joci had indeed chosen to restore Phyllis' paintings first. Obviously she had recognized the somewhat wild streak in them. As they passed the largest room in the building, she couldn't help but peek at the painting of Phyllis and Marcus. Phyllis had put a lot of time in it when she first painted it. Maybe Joci hadn't recognized it as her sister's work, since it was much more detailed.

Asterix had another theory. "I don't think she felt comfortable working on that one." He glanced at the painting, not studying it like the others though. He gave it a regretful smile before walking on.

Bonny frowned.

"Something's bothering Phyllis."

"Yes?"

"Obviously, being back here isn't simple…but I have a feeling…" she suddenly noticed a faint blush on Asterix' cheeks. Which was a lot more informative than his words or even his helmet would ever be to her.

"That it's something else." She finished. "I guess I'm just asking you to keep an eye on her."

"I will," he promised.


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer:Réné Goscinny, Albert Uderzo...Jean Yves Ferri and Didier Conrads'!_

Later that day, Goudurix arrived. And he wasn't alone. He had found company in a young family that also travelled to the Forest House. Their daughter looked not older than nine to Asterix. As Phyllis joined him and Obelix to greet Goudurix, he asked her about it. "Isn't she a little young?"

"Yes, but Pimpernella was a fellow student of ours. That's why they are here" Phyllis frowned, turning to Bonny, who raised her shoulders. "She has a kid, Bon, a large one," Phyllis said. Apparently she did find it odd.

Bonny laughed. "Phyllis, that's not that strange. And she can't be more than eight…ow." She stopped mid-sentence, realizing what Phyllis meant.

Pimpernella was a fine, delicate young woman, with a small face, vibrant blue eyes, and bright red hair in a waterfall braid. "Our pixie," Phyllis whispered to Obelix and Asterix, sounding quite affectionate.

"Phyllis!"

Phyllis looked up. So did the young girl that had followed Goudurix to greet them. Pimpernella joined her daughter, closely followed by her husband. Phyllis examined the little girl, with hair as vibrant as her mothers.

"Say hi to Phyllis, sweetie." Pimpernella urged her daughter.

"Hi Phyllis." The young girl said, extending her hand. Phyllis took it automatically. "Hi…" she replied. She gave Pimpernella a faint smile, and her husband a careful nod. "You have a daughter," she remarked, somewhat stupidly. "And you are married."

Pimpernella smiled at her husband. "Yes, for quite a while already," Pimpernella replied.

"Hi Phyllis," her husband waved at Phyllis, who examined him a bit better. Her eyes widened. "Anagallus!" She exclaimed. Asterix saw her reserved composure away. "I didn't recognize you without the…"

"Armor?" Anagallus smiled. "Well, there is little need for it in a herbal shop."

"You left the army?! That's great!"

Anagallus and Pimpernella looked at each other. "You didn't know yet," he said, regretful.

Phyllis frowned. "No, of course not." She stared at their daughter.

"She turns nine next month," Pimpernella said. "Phyllis." She waited for the older Phyllis to connect the dots.

"You were pregnant," Phyllis said. "Last time I saw you, you were pregnant."

"Yes, I found out a few days before Mesmerons attacked…you saved her."

They all stood there. Goudurix silently joined Asterix and Obelix, waving at them. His aunt looked him up and down without speaking. Phyllis was still holding the girls' hand. She looked at Anagallus.

"You don't quit the army," she said. "You sign for 20 years. You can't just quit it, if you're not injured."

Bonny led them inside, setting them at a large table, and fixing them drinks. As she sat down, she looked at Anagallus as well. "Phyl meant that you got help." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course I got help." The roman gave her a sad smile. "I was freaking out, you know Pimpernells' family. And apart from that…no father or mother would like her daughter frequenting a roman soldier. Well except for…."

"Lucius didn't like it either. He just had little choice." Bonny said. Phyllis didn't re act at all.

"Well at least they were engaged, which is what I should have asked Pimpernell the second I met her."

Asterix felt like this was a conversation they weren't supposed to follow at all. And that he didn't want to follow, for that matter. He looked at Impedimenta, who was listening intently, making no movement at all, as were Obelix and Getafix. Apparently, Phyllis's private life was non-existent to them.

"We weren't engaged." Phyllis said.

Anagallus looked surprised.

"Marcus asked Lucius. He had his blessing…"

"Yes, he did. But I didn't accept. And Pimpernell wouldn't have either, under normal circumstances, so don't blame yourself for not asking her. It's stupid."

Pimpernella smiled. " Maybe not stupid, but accepting to marry a soldier is accepting violence. Difficult for a healer." She looked at Phyllis. "I didn't know you refused."

Phyllis shrugged. "I was rather discreet about it." She frowned.

They were all silent for a moment. Anagallus scratched his short beard.

"When Mesmeron first attacked, you were still at the Forest House" Phyllis said to Pimpernella, still frowning. She looked up. "How could Marcus have helped you two leave?"

"He didn't help us leave, just me." Anagallus said.

Anagallus looked at his wife. "Give her the letter, it's hers." He said, sternly. And so Pimpernella pushed forward a yellow envelope. Phyllis stared at it.

"Of course. I was part 2 of the plan." It sounded flat. She stood up, startling all of them.

Pimpernell flinched. "Aren't you going to read it?"

Phyllis gave her a faint smile.

"Manilla would never have let you leave without your parents' permission. That what they needed to arrange first. Once Anagallus had their permission, It says I had to smuggle you past the camp, so the Centurion would not link his disappearance to your departure. And I'm sure it contains a dozen advices about which route to take." She paused. "East, avoid the waterfall, cause it's great to hide noise, but it gets way to swampy."

"Well…..yes. My parents send me the letter. It arrived … three days after Mesmeron's attack."

"And you didn't need the plan anymore, since your parents came to fetch you themselves and the centurion had hardly an idea who he was, let alone who he was missing."

Anagallus frowned. "As soon as I received word from Pimpernell, I returned to the camp. But you are right, he barely even recognized me…I didn't find Marcus…I left."

Phyllis smiled again. "His plan went right even though the entire second part plummeted like an ill-placed dolmen. I'm sure he'd have been delighted." She extended her hand towards the younger Phyllis. "Tell me, Phyllie, what are you going to do during the opening party?"

The little redhead jumped up, eager to get away from the heavy atmosphere. "Mam says I'm too small to perform."

"That's ridiculous," Phyllis grabbed hold of her, swinging her upwards, to sit in her neck. The girl started to giggle "We're enormous now, we'll do something together. What are you good at? Please don't say singing." Phyllis started to walk away, looking back at Asterix and Obelix, who got up at once.

"I like rope skipping…and dancing." "That's brilliant," Phyllis said, sounding relieved. "We'll go visit my enormous sister first, she's painting. Do you like paint?" They turned the corner, and discovered Goudurix chatting with a slightly red-faced Joci.

Phyllis turned round. "On second thought, we'll do that later. Let's go find ropes first." They headed for the stables.

"Oh, a little dog!" Phyllis put her name-twin down, who sprinted forward towards Dogmatix and Bravura.

"And she has forgotten about us." Phyllis said, turning to Asterix. She looked a little aimless.

Obelix pointed towards the pond. "What do you think?"

"It's great. They can ice-skate on it during the winter, it'll freeze completely."

They went to sit in the grass, observing little Phyllis.

"You didn't want to read the letter?" Obelix asked.

"I'll read it later…." Phyllis put her hair behind her ears. "Anagallus doesn't realize that Marcus and Biancus were both there when he returned." Obelix glanced at Asterix, who could tell that Obelix himself hadn't realized that either. "But he will find out sooner or later…a great deal of the soldiers who discovered that with me will be here during the opening party. I really should tell him. I hope Bonny will, now Phyllis is no longer listening in." She stared at the little kid. "That is going to be confusing."

Red-haired Phyllis returned. "Can we go rope skip now?" Phyllis got up. "Sure. There will be lots of ropes in the stables, we'll go find some." The girl sprinted away again. She looked back at them, apologetic.

"I haven't seen most of them since that first illusion broke…they'll have questions…I sort of overlooked that. I'm rather good at forgetting that sort of things. I guess they will all have arrived before the students though, so it won't spoil the opening."

Asterix frowned. "You don't have to apologize."

"Yes I do. I can't really help your messy arrival here, but I could have sorted that out before you did."

She walked away towards the stables. Obelix looked at Asterix.

"What does she mean?"

"She wants it to look like Mesmeron never happened. The party... The Forest House."

"We wouldn't be here if he never happened," Obelix pointed out. Asterix nodded. "Maybe that's not a bad thing to tell her," he said.

"You do that, because you didn't say much a while ago," Obelix replied, frowning. "I was kind of hoping that you would."

"Sorry….It's just, I was thinking…." Something bothered him a great deal. Even more so now. He couldn't tell Phyllis. But he needed to tell someone. "Do you realize what Phyllis said about Marcus' plans always turning out right? And that letter, very detailed and careful…. Yet he walked right in to a camp controlled by an evil wizard. I don't understand that. I really don't."

"I would have walked right in that camp," Obelix said slowly. "But you wouldn't have."

"I know I wouldn't have. Even with the magic potion, we stayed clear of Mesmeron." Asterix got up . "I'm going to see Getafix for a moment."

"I'm going to watch the ropeskipping. It looks more fun than brewing potions."

They said goodbye, and Asterix travelled the corridors of the Forest House again until he reached Manilla's office. Sure enough, Getafix was there. They were not brewing potions, but reading documents on papyrus, and drinking steaming cups of herbal tea. It looked quite cozy.

He told them. He'd have preferred to talk only to Getafix, but that seemed quite difficult lately. Their druid finished his drink and walked to the window, watching the garden, where the two Phyllis were now practicing some kind of ropeskip-dance thing. Goudurix had joined them, playing something.

"Let it go, Asterix," Getafix said.

"Don't you think," Asterix started, but Getafix interrupted him. "That' it's weird? Yes, I do. But whatever the reason they did decide to return to that camp, because if I recall, it Biancus too…it won't change a thing."

They were silent for a moment.

"It would change something for me." Manilla said, quietly, joining them. "Because I let them go. I thought they would be careful. I counted on it. I convinced Phyllis they would be. That's the one thing she'll never forgive me for."

"So Phyllis didn't think it was strange they … failed."

"She believes Mesmeron was stronger than they expected him to be. Because I told her not everything there was to know about Mesmeron, she didn't warn them, and she believes that is why they made the mistake of confronting him."

It sounded reasonable enough. Only from the earlier story, it seemed that while Phyllis had the habit of rushing into danger, Marcus did not.

"I do think Getafix is right about letting it go. There is no benefit in revisiting the past. Phyllis wants to move on."

Asterix said goodbye to them, still frowning. They were right. There was nothing to gain investigating this. They made a mistake, and there was no magic potion to correct it. He could not talk to Phyllis about this, especially not now. She could think he was talking them down, and she would not take it kindly. Of that, he was certain. But he knew this would keep bothering him for a long time.

_Since this isn't a book, I take time updating and I know I make lengthy stories...I just think it would be good to say this part, Asterix' thoughts about Marcus, will be important later in the story. He is onto something..._


	8. Chapter 8

The next three days, students and their parents kept arriving. As predicted, the former students and soldiers who were there during Mesmerons attack were earlier, and together with Phyllis and Bonny they did not see them for entire evening.

It seemed to have been a good idea, because after that moment, the mood brightened considerably, and everyone was looking forward to the opening ceremony. Their focus was on the future and the only time the past came up was during an enquiry of Myra. About the guest list. They were all having breakfast again, safe for Phyllis, who was still in the stables. "I see you invited Tulius," she quietly told Bonny. Bonny frowned. "Yes, and his father. Who declined and wished us the best, so they won't be coming."

"That doesn't necessarily mean Tulius won't come Does Phyllis know about the invitation?"

"Of course I know about it mam," Phyllis said as she entered the dining room together with her new young friend. She grabbed an apple. "Why are you surprised? It would have been rude not to invite them."

Myra hesitated. "Tulius send your father a marriage proposal."

Phyllis turned to her mother, her teeth stuck in the apple, with wide eyes. She met Asterix' eyes as he too was all attention. Phyllis threw the apple to the ground. "Excuse me?!"

Lucius threw up his hands. "I thought we agreed not to talk about this Myra!"

"Dad!"

Lucius didn't look fazed. "I thought it would hurt his chances if I did tell you about it. While he could just have been trying not to start off on the wrong foot with me."

"But since he obviously didn't proceed to contact you, as your father suggested," I think it's best you know, Myra said.

"Is he insane? It's been eight years since I last saw him."

"He looks more or less the same," Lucius informed his daughter. "And he feels it is his duty to protect you since …. Well since his brother can't." Suddenly he regretted opening his mouth.

"He's insane. He's talked to me twice. Protect me? I can pinch him out cold. I don't even need my powers for it."

"He is rather good looking," Pimpernella added softly, earning a raised eyebrow from her husband. "He looks a lot like…"

"No he doesn't! He doesn't look like Marcus at all, and he never will." Phyllis gave Bonny a burning stare. "Do you think he'll come?" Bonny looked rather taken aback. "No," she said. "I don't think so…would it be a problem? I could…."

Phyllis' eyes softened. "Of course not. He has a right to be here." She sat down, placing herself in front of a bowl of breakfast. She stirred it without paying much attention. She turned to her mother nex "Thanks for the information, but I'd really appreciate it if you told me this directly."

"We thought he would tell you himself…."

"He probably had one look at me and ran away," Phyllis said. "Which is actually not that bad." She turned to Asterix and the others. "Tulius is Marcus's younger brother, in case you hadn't realized it yet."

"How much younger?" Impedimenta informed. "Two years older than me. I don't know him that well, just from the opening ceremonies, he visited a few of them. Apparently not this one." Phyllis turned her attention to her breakfast.

Asterix tried not to look at her too much. He didn't know what to think of this at all. Offering to protect someone after the danger was gone, seemed incredibly coward-like to him. Maybe Phyllis thought so too. At least she doesn't appreciate it, he thought randomly.

The rest of the day, Phyllis spent rehearsing some sort of dance with Pimpernella's daughter. Pimpernella and Anagallus having named their daughter after her seemed to have turned something in her. It turned her from an outsider back into a part of the special institution the Forest House. And though she was firm on not wanting to sing, the others had soon convinced her to dance. Something she had done a lot in the past, and, from the comments of her fellow students, was very good at. Asterix could well imagine it, he knew she was athletic and light-footed from sparring with her.

But the next evening, the night of the opening, that warrior girl was nowhere to be seen. Swallowed by the crowd. And when she emerged again in a white dress, with delicately braided hair decorated with daisies, she fit the picture perfectly.

Impedimenta rushed forward to greet her, and Phyllis was thankful enough. She felt nervous, glancing at Asterix despite telling herself not to. She didn't catch his stare, but she did find a lot of other people were focused on her. And seemed anxious not to get in her way. It was a relief to have Impedimenta rush to her, comment on a braid that wasn't perfectly symmetrical, and pulling her hair to fix it. At least the little gaulish woman did not fear her. Or doing her best to ignore her, she thought, somewhat irritated.

But it wasn't fair, because Asterix wasn't really doing that. He'd helped with the renovations, talked with her about being back here and if she was okay with it all, advising her to give the whole thing a try, and make up her mind about staying or not later.

It was a good advice, and he was a good friend. He didn't try to push her in one direction or another. Like Bonny did constantly. Because she wanted Phyllis to participate, to fit in, because she wanted her to stay. Asterix wanted nothing of her. She couldn't blame him for that, but it hurt nevertheless.

As she took her place, forming the circle that they all made to start the opening ceremony, she took Bonny's hand with renewed fondness of her irritating best friend. Who wanted her to be there, and made her feel that at least for one person, it mattered a lot what she did next. She grinned at Bonny, who looked slightly alarmed before grinning back. "You're looking forward to the party already, aren't you?" she said.

"You bet I am."

Asterix found that witnessing the opening ceremony was one of the most mesmerizing things he had ever done, and Impedimenta, Getafix and Obelix were quick to agree with him. The entwined hands of the soon to be healers created a special energy, making the field and slight evening fog illuminate slightly. Chanting and concentrating on each other, it was clear that their connection heightened their unexplored powers. The glow extended to the Forest house behind them, and it was more than ever like a house from fairytales

There were sweet smelling bonfires around them and fresh flowers all around them, tweaking their senses.

Getafix looked delighted about the whole scene as well. "Whatever else stirs in our young friend, there is no doubt that she is a healer," he remarked to Asterix, pointing at Phyllis, who indeed fit the scene perfectly, her eyes closed in complete concentration. Asterix nodded. It was true. She fit the scene. And she was, even from his perspective, quite a bit younger.

Half an hour later, the ceremony was over, and the circled changed into an uncoordinated flock of girls that were eager to have dinner and party.

Phyllis smiled as she approached them. Her white dress, flowed behind her as she walked, somewhat too wild for her serene look.

"Damn, I can't wait to get out of this dress."

Asterix raised an eyebrow.

Obelix just stared for a while. "It's nice," he finally commented.

"That would sound much better if you dropped that surprised tone, you know," Phyllis replied, not seeming to care much. "Anyway, I'm going to change, cause there is just no way I'm going to start the party looking like some holy maiden." She turned on her heal, leaving them behind again.

When she emerged again, one roasted boar later, gone where the daisies and frills. Phyllis had loosened her hair, giving her voluminous black locks instead, decorated with a single red flower. And she wore a tight-fitting black dress, flaring around her legs, thanks to a wide split that he knew she would make in any dress, if it wasn't already there…She like to be able to move around. Asterix felt a blush creep to his cheeks just from looking at her. He was in deep trouble now. How was he supposed to ignore this? She caught his stare, and he realized her already magnificent green eyes were accentuated a bit. As if he needed a reminder that they looked great.

"Phyllis looks like herself again," Obelix commented. " Pity, she did look cute with those daisies, almost like a real girl." Asterix kept silent. Because he couldn't agree.

Phyllis had indeed looked like a different person during the opening ceremony. Like one of those giggling girls he got the shivers from, since he had no idea what to say to them. Like a healer who belonged here, that too. It made him self-conscious, a feeling he didn't like one bit. When she had greeted them in that attire, he had to remind himself she was still the same person he had never had trouble talking to before. Which had worked, but it had still been a wake-up call. He had seen her transform in to the forest pixie this environment made of her and the change had grown between them like a vast and unbreakable wall.

Which she had chosen to tore down again. The change Obelix commented on was not in those braids and daisies, but in her determined stride and malicious eyes. He couldn't deny that he was happy about it.

She had caught him watching this time, and it was enough for her to justify joining them.

Soon they were all enjoying a banquet worthy of those in the village. Savouring the food, watching the young Phyllis preform a ridiculously complicated ropeskipping dance. And listening to girls. Talking about boys. Goudurix, to be more specific.

" Go talk to him," Bonny urged.

Joci just shook her head. Looking at her lap. The jolly girl they had met had just turned incredibly shy. She suddenly reminded Asterix of Obelix. And if he was totally honest, a bit of himself too.

"Ask him to dance."

"Bonny, let her be. Go dance yourself," Phyllis interrupted.

Bonny acted like she didn't hear.

"You know how Phyllis used to ask people to dance with her?"

Asterix was all attention now. As was Joci, and apparently some other students as well. They leaned in to hear.

"She.." "Bonny!" Phyllis snapped. "Don't explain! You'll ruin the routine."

Bonny smirked. "Well show them then."

"If you sing."

"I've sung for over half an hour just moments ago Phyllis."

"Ridiculous monotonous humming is below you and you know it. I"ll show them the routing if you'll sing the way you know I mean."

Bonny stared at her, before leaning in and whispering something in Phyllis' ear. "But he doesn't…"Phyllis started, realizing that she couldn't finish that sentence. She stared daggers at Bonny. Bonny knew too much, and it wasn't because she had told her.

"Take it or leave it Phyl," Bonny said, leaning back a little.

Phyllis sighed. "Fine." She got up, eyeing the tables. It looked much like one of their banquets at home, tables in a circle. In the middle, Goudurix was making music like a madman. Phyllis did a few steps, before leaping side wards on the tables, summersaulting and flipping around the cups and plates. Even Asterix could see she followed the rhythm of the music effortlessly, showing that if she couldn't sing, she surely could dance. By the time she had cleared half circle he had also seen that she wore short pants underneath the split skirt, and that her belly was tanned like her arms and legs. As had the rest of the table. She finished her round by landing in front of Bonny (swiping off the food on it as she did, which made Obelix groan), resting her head on her hand. "Wanna dance?" she winked. Bonny laughed, half at the limited effort it had taken her to make Phyllis show off, half at the reaction of everyone around them.

"Sure," she replied.

As they got up and started twirling around each other, she smiled.

"Flawless. But I expected you to ask someone else. In fact, I made a deal with you."

Bonny looked back. Asterix' lip maybe hadn't dropped to the table like some of the other men's had, but the wings on helmet did hang sideward, showing he was completely baffled. She wondered if he realized that.

"On the other hand, he….."

"He doesn't like dancing," Phyllis said.

"And that stops you." Bonny stopped as the music slowed down a bit.

"It sure does."

Bonny led her best friend away to sit near of one of the fires. It was high time for them to talk.


	9. Chapter 9

"I need something from my office," Manilla announced. The dining Gauls looked up at her, except Obelix, who was enjoying his food to much to do so.

"I need something from the office and there is a menhir where my door used to be."

Obelix swallowed. "It wasn't a very good door, it broke when I was looking for Asterix right before the party, so I put a menhir in stead. Closes it off completely." Everyone around him groaned.

Manilla gave him a blank look. "I can't lift a menhir," she said solemnly.

Obelix looked genuinely surprised.

"Phyllis can," he said.

"I'm not Phyllis, and even if I was, it would still take me a lot of effort. I'm generally not enraged every time I enter my office."

Asterix decided to give his best friend a break. He had done his share for the renovations,after all. "I'll go with you," he announced, taking a swig of magic potion on his way.

….

Bonny and Phyllis watched them go from a small distance, seated together in the soft grass, the warmth of one of the fires in their back.

"Asterix is going with Manilla," Bonny announced.

"I can see that," Phyllis said. "I think to put away the menhir that is now the door of her office."

Bonny frowned. If Phyllis knew, she had simply chosen not to do anything about it. But although Phyllis' strained relationship with Manilla kept bothering her, she was slowly starting to accept it might never change.

"You and Asterix…" Bonny started, but Phyllis interrupted her. "I kissed him."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"I heard you. I just don't know where to fit this in with all the 'I can't afford to lose a friend like that comments' you made. I'm trying to arrange something and it already happened!" Bonny fell back in the grass, thinking about this. She remembered her conversation with Asterix.

"You just kissed?" she finally asked, earning a reproachful glance from Phyllis.

"Have you forgotten why I went to Lutetia?" Phyllis asked. Bonny cringed. Truth to be told, for a moment she had. Phyllis softened up at Bonny's pained expression. "It's okay. It's not the first time we come across this sort of drama's. But Asterix and Obelix usually prevent drama…."

"He was really mad that you went there alone," Bonny said.

Phyllis nodded.

"He saw them too. That's how he injured his hand."

"I hope they looked worse."

"They will by now…but he hit a door, not one of them." Phyllis paused. "I made a mistake, Bon."

"Why? He kissed you back."

Phyllis frowned. "I'm surprised you can tell. It doesn't really show"

"It doesn't really show on you either Phyllis," Bonny pointed out.

"I haven't changed opinion. I don't want to lose him as a friend. I…I just…hope I haven't jeopardized that."

Bonny nudged her in the ribs. "It won't. You're not an ogre Phyllis, for Toutatis sake." They both watched the dancing for a moment. Goudurix was being quite intimate with one of the girls, dancing with her, making her blush. Phyllis frowned again, this time because she saw Joci look on a bit sadly. She followed the scene, as did Asterix, who had just arrived at the dinner table again. If only Goudurix had that attitude on the battlefield, he would be a formidable opponent. It irritated the little warrior beyond means. But the main reason it did, was that, well, in one way, Goudurix was braver than he was. And even if that was an accusation he directed at himself, he couldn't stand it. He got up, having spotted Phyllis and Bonny. Anything beyond a Gaul line dance was well beyond his reach, and especially with someone like Phyllis, that was bound to be painfully obvious, but they would go home days from now, and frankly, he didn't care much anymore.

Back in the grass, Phyllis was watching Goudurix with growing irritation. Until Goudurix gave the blushing girl a goodbye kiss at the end of their dance, that made Joci flee in tears.

"That's it, I'm breaking his neck." Apart from the slight rustling noise of her skirt as she jumped up, Phyllis was gone without another noise. Following the cocky boy like a predator his prey. As soon as he noticed, he started to run like one. It left a bewildered Asterix behind in front of just Bonny instead of Phyllis.

"Whose neck?" he asked, frowning. Bonny mentally slapped her forehead. How Phyllis managed to completely miss the person she was head over heels in love with finally approaching them, was beyond her.

"Goudurix made Joci cry…" she faltered, realizing Phyllis was probably not going to break his neck, but that this would not necessarily mean the boy would be all right. "Isn't he your chief's cousin?" she asked hopefully. Maybe she could sit this one out.

Asterix turned on his heels. "I'm on it," he said. And gone he was, the lingering effect of the Magic Potion not giving him any trouble to catch up. And hopefully stop the angry sister in time, Bonny thought.

She returned to sit with the other villagers.

"What was that all about?" Impedimenta asked her.

"Well, Goudurix kissed Joci, and then some other girl, upsetting both of them. And Phyllis is a tiny bit angry over it. But don't worry," she said, seeing the mildly worried face of Impedimenta. "Asterix was going to calm her down." Suddenly she had also caught Getafix' and Obelix' attention. Obelix snorted.

"What?" she asked,confused.

"It might be better if you intervened yourself," Getafix said carefully.

"What he means is that Asterix has no patience whatsoever," Obelix said bluntly.

"Which means you should go after them, Obelix" Impedimenta sniffed. "Piggly…Heroïx will not be glad when either of those two hot heads attacks his cousin. Not that he sometimes doesn't deserve it."

Obelix threw an incredulous look at Impedimenta, then at his half-finished boar. When he noticed Getafix' stern face, he sulked off.

"Great," he commented to Dogmatix, quite disgruntled. "Why do I have to go after them? It's not my cousin…Getafix wasn't eating. And if Asterix is so smart, he should have no trouble handling this, shouldn't he?

Dogmatix just barked in reply.

"Phyllis!" Asterix warned her before reaching for her shoulder. He didn't grab it forcefully, but she immediately noticed the effect of the magic potion was not gone yet. Sure, as soon as she was livid, there he was. It did not help much to calm her down.

"The punk needs a lesson!" she didn't scream at him, not quite. After all, he wasn't the one she was angry with.

Asterix smiled, grabbing her second shoulder, just to be sure "Let him be Phyllis, he's a moron…."

Goudurix came to a stop, realizing he was saved. He slowly approached, catching Asterix' words as he did. Sure, he appreciated his intervention, but not necessarily the reasoning behind it.

He hadn't really paid attention to Phyllis earlier, just too busy. She was tiny, but not unpretty, he realized. He recognized the furious light green eyes….she was a bit too muscular maybe, but still slender and curvy, not bad at all, actually. He regretted getting on her nerves, even more now he realized that.

He walked towards them. "Sorry," he said. "Whenever I'm at a party, my Lutetian roots kick in I guess…I'll apologize to your sister."

Asterix tapped his foot. He had not missed the long look Goudurix had given Phyllis before his act of repentance.

"What exactly did he do?" he asked. Goudurix threw him an exasperated look. He had almost talked himself out of it, before mister Asterix just had to remind the raven haired girl in front of him she was mad.

"He kissed both Joci and Pensiluna…in…five minutes or so?" She responded angrily. Asterix let go of her, giving her a chance to get closer to her target. He didn't feel like holding her back anymore.

Goudurix held up his hands, "I'm sorry ok! Like I said, It's what we do in Lutetia, but I didn't mean to hurt them, I'll apologize. Truce?" When he saw Phyllis' composure soften, he walked forward, extending his hand. He gave her a sly smile, not able to resist. "And then maybe we can have a dance later."

Phyllis rolled her eyes. "City boys," she mumbled. But she extended her hand.

'PAF!'

She turned to Asterix' red face, her eyes wide like saucers. He had just slammed the blonde teen into a luckily soft pile of hay. Still, it was clear Goudurix was seeing stars from the blow alone.

"What…" she started…But he grabbed her hand and pulled her away. Heading for the clearing and the party, until he realized he had no haste explaining to Impedimenta why he had punched her cousin, and so he stopped mid-way. In the middle of the large trees, where they could not see the rest, but still heard the music.

"What just happened?" Phyllis asked. He felt seriously uncomfortable, but he saw her grin. She didn't feel too bad about him losing his patience, apparently.

"You were right, he needed a lesson," He hoped that would be sufficient. Phyllis started laughing.

"He'll have trouble remembering what it was now though," she teased. She touched his chest with her index finger. "You're just as bad as I am." She smiled, catching his gaze again. The corner of his mouth lifted. "You know, that lecture would sound more convincing if you 'weren't so cheery he about the whole thing," he said, stepping closer.

She softly pulled his moustache, making his heart flutter. She leant forward: "I'm going to tell Impedimenta," she whispered, laughing harder as she ran away. He realized she was not necessarily bluffing. Luckily the magic potion allowed him to tackle her soon enough. "Oh no, you're not," he said, picking her up and spinning her around. She giggled in response, not bothering to resist.

He slowed down, still holding her. Suddenly very aware of that. She turned towards him, smiling one of her brightest smiles yet. He swallowed. A normal girl would have been affronted by his lack of temper. And even from Phyllis he would have expected a reprimand. He didn't know why exactly, since she had been on her way to give Goudurix just the pounding he had ended up dealing him. Of course she didn't mind. The daisies and braides were clouding his picture of her. He smiled back at her, touching her black locks affectionately. A small gesture that was met with surprise and delight.

Her hands went to his chest, and he leant forward. To tell her something or finally kiss her back, she would never know, since Obelix chose that moment to stomp in.

"Have you guys…." He stopped, seeing that Asterix was holding Phyllis tightly, but apparently not to restrain her, since she was not exactly fighting him off. And Goudurix was nowhere to be seen. He raised an eyebrow at his friend, who let go of her at once. But he didn't move away much.

"Seen Goudurix?" He finished.


End file.
